A Weasley Family Advent
by Bad Mum
Summary: Advent 1980 at The Burrow. Shamelessly domestic, and probably fluffy too. A chapter a day till Christmas...
1. November 30th

_This is for serindraxx's 25 days of Christmas Challenge at the HP Fanfiction Challenges Forum. The aim is to write a chapter a day up until Christmas..._

_And I'll warn you now, that this will be shamelessly domestic, and not a lot will happen. _

_**The Burrow, Advent 1980...**_

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**30****th**** November**** (Advent Sunday)**

Molly is sitting in the kitchen eating a slice of birthday cake and cuddling a baby who is refusing to go to sleep. He is eying the cake speculatively, and Molly reflects ruefully that after six babies, she should know better than to eat cake in front of any of them without offering them any. Her boys seem to be perpetually hungry, and little Ronnie seems to be no different from his brothers in that respect.

She sighs, puts the plate with the half-eaten cake on the table, and carries the baby upstairs. Ronnie yells when she puts him down in the cot, but she judges that he is tired enough that he will settle himself once she leaves the room. She peeks into the room across the landing before going back downstairs to her abandoned cake. The twins are fast asleep – in the same bed again, but she is not going to wake them up to argue the point – and a very sleepy Percy mumbles something incomprehensible to her before subsiding once more into sleep. Upstairs, Molly can hear Arthur in Bill and Charlie's room using his "I'm trying to be reasonable about this, boys" voice. She wonders what tonight's putting-off-bedtime discussion is, and hopes that Arthur will put an end to it quickly.

He does, and is downstairs again before she finishes her slice of cake.

"Is there any of that left?" he asks hopefully.

"A bit. But you'd better leave some for Bill. It's his birthday cake after all."

Arthur grins and shakes his head as he helps himself to the last of the cake. "He had three slices yesterday. He can live without any more."

Molly laughs. "What was the discussion tonight?"

Arthur laughs too. "Bill reckons he should go to bed later than Charlie now he's hit double figures. Charlie argued."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Of course he did. Charlie argues about everything. I hope you told Bill no?"

"Of course I did. What do you think?" Arthur swallows the last of his cake, and stretches. "Can we start thinking about Christmas now Bill's birthday is out of the way?"

"It's Charlie's in less than a fortnight, remember."

"Oh, I know. That was part of his argument for not going to bed earlier than Bill tonight. But can we think about Christmas for the next week or so?"

Molly grimaces. "I suppose we have to. I must start knitting. Have you found the advent calendars?"

"The old ones, yeah. You did get new ones for the twins, didn't you?"

"Fabian did. They're in the drawer over there." Molly nods towards the old dresser. "Can you put them up, love?"

Arthur smiles and gets to his feet, pulling Molly towards him and leading her towards the stairs. "That can wait till the morning. Right now, I have much better plans."


	2. December 1st

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**1st**** December**

The boys' descent down the stairs early on Monday morning bears more resemblance to a shouting avalanche than anything else. (Molly knows that avalanches do not shout, but her boys do – a lot.) Most mornings are noisy, but today is worse because they want to get to the Advent calendars. The first of December is a big deal at The Burrow.

Advent calendars in the wizarding world are something special. Bill or Charlie, or even little Percy, would turn their noses up in disgust at the Muggle idea of little cardboard windows with nothing but a pictured bell or reindeer behind it. Even the newer idea of a bit of chocolate for every day would not impress them much, although they would eat the chocolate happily enough.

Wizarding advent calendars have the doors. In fact, to look at, they are very similar to the traditional Muggle items. But when the door is opened…

Prewett (and by extension Weasley) family tradition says that the youngest child goes first. Fred and George have never had Advent calendars before this year, and are wild with excitement at the Quidditch scenes that Uncle Fabian has picked out for them, identical in all but the colours of the players' kit (scarlet with a bit of gold for Fred, gold with some scarlet for George – of course, they both have to have Gryffindor colours). Fred, nine minutes younger than his twin, goes first. With a bit of help from big brother Charlie he finds number one and opens the door. There is a "whoosh" and a golden and green dragon seems to jump out at him, breathing fire, and leaving a trail of sparkles in the air before disappearing back into the calendar leaving only a picture – albeit a moving one – behind the tiny door. George has a similar dragon, although his is red and silver. Percy has a centaur, thundering hooves and booming voice. Charlie has a dragon too, purple and green, twice as big as either of the twins' and three times as noisy. Bill has another centaur, bigger than Percy's and with a voice so loud that the twins cover their ears, and baby Ronnie, who has been sitting in his highchair watching the proceedings with interest, begins to cry.

Molly picks him up and cuddles him, and orders the older boys to the table and breakfast. The excitement of the calendars over, for today at least, they obey with alacrity. Suddenly, they all realise that they are starving.

* * *

_A/N In my Weasley world, George is older than Fred. No idea if JKR thinks that way or not!_


	3. December 2nd

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**2nd December**

Arthur is late home because with things the way they are he cannot risk turning down extra work when the Ministry asks (or demands, to be more accurate). In the current climate of fear and uncertainty jobs are precarious. With six kids, Arthur cannot afford to lose his.

The boys are all in bed when he returns, and the house seems unnaturally quiet. He walks in on Molly sitting in the living room singing along to Celestina Warbeck's _"A magical Christmas with you"_, knitting needles clicking in front of her. She squeals when he comes up behind her and kisses her neck.

"Arthur! How long have you been there? I didn't hear you come in."

Arthur chuckles. "I know you didn't." He regards his wife's knitting dubiously as he sits down beside her on the settee and puts his arm round her shoulders. "What's that?"

"Ronnie's Christmas jumper. What d'you think?"

"Maroon? Seriously Moll? Maroon for a baby?"

"Well, I'm running out of colours," Molly replies defensively. "Dark blue for Bill, red for Charlie, green for Percy, bright blue for the twins… And Fabian and Gideon always have shades of purple. I thought maroon would go nicely with Ronnie's hair."

Arthur laughs. "We'd better not have any more kids, or you'll end up having to dress one in orange or pink."

"With red hair? Honestly Arthur, do you think I would?" Molly's voice is getting shrill, and Arthur chuckles again as he pulls her close. It is ridiculously easy to wind her up, but the temptation is irresistible on occasion.

"Perhaps not." He sobers abruptly. "But seriously, Molly, no more kids. We can barely afford the ones we have."

She sighs as she snuggles into him. "I know. You're right." She sniffs. "But I would have liked a little girl."

Arthur kisses her wet cheek. "I know, love. So would I."


	4. December 3rd

_Sorry this is a short one! I've been out all day, and haven't had much time to write._

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**3****rd**** December**

Bill and Charlie are lying on Charlie's bed, writing their Christmas lists. Bill looks over Charlie's shoulder and reads his.

"Quaffle has two f's," he informs him in his most annoying elder-brother manner. "And you can't ask for a new broom."

Charlie scowls. "Why can't I?"

"'Cos they cost too much. Mum 'n' Dad could never afford to buy us new brooms." He sighs. "It would be nice if they could, though."

Charlie sighs too, and scribbles out the top item on his list. "Are we _very_ poor, Bill?" he asks.

Bill shrugs. "I dunno. We always seem to have enough to eat an' clothes an' stuff, so I 'spose not. But I don't think we have what you'd call _spare _money. And there _are_ a lot of us." He looks at Charlie's list again. "Perhaps if we asked for a Quaffle between us, we might get it…"

Charlie cheers up at that idea. Grinning, he underlines _"Quafle" _and adds _"shared with Bill"_ in brackets after it. "Add it to your list too, then," he orders.

Bill obeys. Half a Quaffle might not be too much to hope for…


	5. December 4th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**4****th**** December**

Molly is making mince pies with Percy and the twins helping. Well, Percy is helping, and the twins aren't actually hindering. (She wonders how long that state of affairs will continue.)

Molly enjoys rolling out the pastry by hand instead of by using magic. She insists that doing it that way makes the finished result lighter, and although no one can tell the difference, they don't tell her that. Percy is spooning mincemeat from the jar into the pastry shells she has already put into the tin, a look of intense concentration on his face. Fred and George are making balls and cutting out star shapes from more pastry, which is taking on a distinctly grey hue. A jug of custard sits ready on the side, together with a small bowl of brandy butter made with Madame Holly's Best Christmas brandy. It is an extravagance, but Arthur does love brandy butter. The boys will be much happier with custard on their share of the pies.

There is a cry from the yard, the back door bangs open letting in a blast of cold air, and Bill comes in shouting that Charlie fell off his broom and is _covered _in blood. They can hear Charlie yelling outside. (Charlie never cries, he yells. Molly suspects he regards it as a matter of principle.) Molly sighs and wipes her floury hands on her apron, glancing at the three younger boys, who all seem to be happily and innocently busy, and follows Bill outside. She is not particularly worried. Charlie is _always_ falling off his broom, and Bill is prone to exaggeration.

When she returns, leading Charlie to a chair to deal with his scraped knees and cut forehead, there is chaos in the kitchen. Both the twins are covered in custard. Fred is screaming, George is crying and Percy looks scared. Ronnie, in the playpen in the corner, is laughing and clapping.

"I – I didn't mean to," Percy stutters, before Molly can say anything. "Fred threw some flour at me, an' George laughed an' I got mad, an' it just _happened_. I didn't mean it, Mummy, really." He bursts into tears, and Molly has to fight the urge to laugh. The twins look so indignant and Percy so contrite, and really what will the children's accidental magic do next?

She pulls out her wand from her apron pocket to deal with the mess before sorting Charlie out. The boys will have to make do with cream on their mince pies this evening.

* * *

_A/N Someone asked about the children's ages in this. Bill has just turned 10, Charlie will be 8 on the 12th of December, Percy is 4, the twins are 2 1/2 and Ron is 9 months. (Ginny is just a twinkle!)_


	6. December 5th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**5****th**** December**

"And if Ronnie won't settle, give him some more milk, and don't forget his teddy bear…"

Fabian smiles at his sister confidently. "Molly, will you just _go_? We know how to babysit, we've done it before. _Go_, will you?"

Molly still looks uncertain, but Arthur takes her hand and leads her firmly to the door. "Come on, Moll. We'll be late. How often do we get to go out for dinner on our own?"

Molly obeys, somewhat reluctantly, but turns back as Ronnie begins to cry. Dorcas picks the baby up. "He'll be fine two minutes after you're gone," she assures Molly. "I promise. Take her away, Arthur, and have a good time, the two of you!"

Molly lets herself be led to the door, still looking worried. "Do you think they'll be alright?" she asks her husband, almost before the door closes behind them.

"You worry too much," he tells her, smiling. "They'll be fine. Fabe and Dorie know what they're doing. They'll be fine."

"I'm fussing, aren't I?" Molly asks.

"Just a bit," he agrees, kissing her. "Now let's forget we're responsible parents, and go and have a good time, eh?"

She smiles, and holds his arm as they Apparate to the restaurant.

They have a very good evening.

So do the boys. Dorcas makes them hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream_ and _chocolate sprinkles. ("Are we supposed to call her 'Auntie' or not?" Percy asked earlier, and Molly did not know quite what to say. If only Fabian would get on and propose to the girl…) And Uncle Fabian tells the _best _bedtime stories, so that no one – not even Charlie – objects to being sent to bed more or less on time.

All is quiet when Arthur and Molly return home just before midnight. Arthur, Fabian and Dorcas all resist the urge to say, "I told you so." (Molly knows it, and is grateful.)


	7. December 6th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**6****th**** December**

It is Saturday, and Arthur has taken Bill and Charlie Christmas shopping. This is brave of him. Diagon Alley on a Saturday in December is bad enough without two excited small boys in tow. Add to this the fact that they only have one Galleon, two Sickles and three Knuts between them to buy presents for Mum and all of their brothers, and the trip could be fraught indeed.

But they strike lucky. There is a tiny junk shop squeezed between Beulah Bewlock's Bakery and Eeylops Owl Emporium that comes up trumps. They find a pretty vase for Mum, a book about owls for Percy, cymbals and a drum for Fred and George (Arthur tries not to think about what Molly with say about _that_) and a toy Hippogriff on wheels for Ronnie. Then Charlie waits by the door while Bill finds and pays for a model dragon as Charlie's present from him, and they swap places until Charlie finds a book about tomb raiders in Egypt for Bill. (This takes ages, and Bill is complaining by the time Charlie is finished. "Do you want a present or not?" Charlie demands.)

Arthur takes the chance to do some shopping on his own account. He finds a photo album that he will fill for Molly with some of the pile of unsorted family pictures currently languishing under their bed, as well as a copper-coloured bangle that he knows she will love, even if it does cost more than he can really afford.

Bill and Charlie have two Sickles left to buy a gingerbread man each from the bakery next door. While they eat them, watched by Beulah's teenage daughter Bettina (bribed by a gingerbread man of her own), Arthur hurries to Quality Quidditch Supplies. He shrinks the purchase he makes there until it will fit in the pocket of his robes. He does not want the boys to see this one.

Arthur can't believe how well the shopping trip has gone. But next week he has to repeat it with Percy and the twins… He won't think about that until he has to.


	8. December 7th

_A/N This one's longer, and it's angstier too. I've managed a whole week without any angst, but you know me... I promise tomorrow's will be a happy one!_

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**7****th**** December**

Usually, Molly and Arthur are very careful not to leave _The_ _Prophet_ where Bill or Charlie can read it, but today Arthur – summoned by Molly to control the twins while she dishes up lunch - forgets and leaves it on the settee where Bill picks it up. He reads the story on the front page before being called into the kitchen for lunch, and it does not make good reading. He is very quiet during the meal, although everyone else is making so much noise that his parents do not notice. During the family walk that follows, Molly and Arthur, fully occupied with keeping the twins and Charlie within sight and negotiating the ancient pram with Ronnie in it over the muddy ground, are simply glad that he and Percy are walking nicely and not running off like the others.

It is not until Bill and Charlie's bedtime, that Molly and Arthur realise that there is anything wrong. Arthur drags Charlie away from the fantasy Quidditch team he is creating for the _Quaffle, Bludger and Snitch's _annual competition, but cannot find Bill anywhere. Charlie says he has not seen him since teatime; nor has Molly. A quick search establishes that he is nowhere in the house. Arthur leaves Molly to put Charlie to bed – much to Charlie's disgust, since he fails to see why he should be sent to bed if Bill isn't – and goes outside in search of his eldest son.

He finally runs him to earth in the broom shed. He is crouched in the corner, shaking with a mixture of cold and sobs. Arthur pulls off his own cloak and puts it round Bill's shoulders and casts a warming spell about the two of them before sitting down beside Bill and putting his arms around him.

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad," he says gently, pulling his son close. Bill buries his face in the comforting warmth of his father's sweater, but it is some time before he is able to answer.

Finally he chokes out, "I – I read _the Prophet_. I know I'm not s'posed to, but you left it on the settee. About – about You Know Who killing those people. An' - an' it said 'bout some people going to help an' getting hurt too. It – I – it wasn't Uncle Fabe and Uncle Gid was it? They help people that You Know Who wants to hurt…"

Arthur mentally kicks himself for leaving the paper lying about. "No, it wasn't them," he says soberly. "They're fine, I promise you."

But Bill is not stupid. He hears what his father is leaving unsaid. "It - it could've been them though, couldn't it?" he demands. "Couldn't it?"

Arthur hugs him tighter. "Yes, it could," he says. "You're old enough to understand that when people fight for what they believe in, that they could get hurt."

"Or killed?" Bill asks fiercely.

Arthur sighs. What has gone wrong with a world where you have to have this sort of conversation with a ten-year-old? "Yes," he admits. "It's possible. But right now, Bill, I promise you that they're fine. We'd've heard if anything had happened to them."

Bill is silent, digesting this. Then, "Why don't you an' Mum fight You Know Who too?" he asks.

Arthur sighs again. "Because our first job is to keep you and the others safe," he says quietly. "If we fought, we'd put you in danger." (He knows his family is in danger already because of Fabian and Gideon, and because their views on You Know Who are well known, but Bill does not need to hear that right now.)

"But some people with kids fight, don't they?" Bill asks. "Mum said James an' Lily Potter had a baby boy, an' they still fight."

"Yes, they do," Arthur says evenly. "Different people make different choices, Bill. Your Mother and I are doing what we think is right."

"So Mr an' Mrs Potter are wrong to fight?" Bill asks. He is trying to understand, but these are hard ideas for a ten-year-old to grasp.

Arthur shakes his head. "No, Bill," he says. "It isn't that simple. It's one of those things where there's no right or wrong answer and everyone has to decide for themselves what they think is the best thing to do."

Bill snuggles in closer to his father's chest. It is very late, and he is worn out with thinking and crying. "You promise that Uncle Fabe an' Uncle Gid are okay?" he asks again.

"I promise," Arthur says soberly. "I can't promise they always will be, Bill. I wish I could. But you should be proud of having uncles who are willing to fight for what is right, to make the world a better place for children like you and your brothers."

"I know," Bill says, managing a watery smile. "An' I am proud of them, sort of. But – but I wish no one had to fight."

Arthur gets to his feet, and pulls Bill up too. "So do I, son," he says quietly. "So do I."

They walk slowly back to the house, Arthur's arm still round Bill's shoulders.


	9. December 8th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**8****th**** December**

The boys are sitting around the kitchen table making Christmas cards. Molly had the brilliant idea that handprints made into Christmas trees or snowmen or stars would be a good idea. Now she is beginning to regret it.

Some of Bill's and Charlie's do look like what they are supposed to be, and Percy has made a couple of good efforts at stars and snowmen (although two of the snowmen seem to be bright green.) But the twins have yellow and green paint all over themselves, and practically none on the paper. Any attempt to suggest they might like to press their paint-smeared hands down onto the cards is met with giggles and yet more paint on the table, their clothes, their brothers or the floor.

Finally, Molly gives up, and waves her wand, vanishing all the paint except that which is legitimately on the cards. She produces gold and silver stickers from the drawer to decorate the Christmas trees, and a black pen to draw in the details of the snowmen, and instructs the boys to finish the cards nicely because there will be no lunch until they do. That threat produces some semblance of industry, and eventually, a line of cards – with pictures varying from quite creditable snowmen or Christmas trees to messy but almost identifiable stars to simple splashes of coloured paint – is lined up on the old dresser to dry.

Molly despatches the children to the bathroom to get clean – or cleaner, anyway – before lunch, and waves her wand to deal with the mess. She spares a pitying thought for Muggle mothers who have to do it by hand.


	10. December 9th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**9****th**** December**

It is cold and damp, and he dares not use warming or umbrella charms because there are still a few Muggles about. It also eleven o'clock at night, and Arthur would so much rather be at home. But he has a job to do.

Someone is bewitching the Muggle Christmas trees outside the shops in this particular Muggle street in this particular gloomy little town in south-east England so that they fight back when someone tries to pick them up to carry them home or get them into a car. The effect wears off after a few minutes, and mostly the Muggles concerned have put it down to their own clumsiness or to having drunk too much at the pub last night, but The Ministry does not find it funny. Arthur, being the most junior person in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office (which only has three staff at the moment anyway) gets the night shift, watching to catch the culprits in the act.

He doubts if they will come tonight. Surely a few laughs at the expense of a hapless Muggle or two are not worth coming out on a night like this when you could be at home in the warm and dry?

But he is wrong. Three figures are walking down the street, right past the mouth of the alley where Arthur is uncomfortably hidden behind a dustbin, with a Disillusionment Charm in place just in case someone should come down here. Two of them tall, one shorter and dark-haired with glasses slightly askew. The taller dark-haired man tosses his head back with an arrogant laugh, and the other turns so that his face falls into the beam of light from a streetlight. Arthur groans out loud as he recognises him. Perhaps he should just go home now and tell Molly, and let Gideon face _her_ wrath. He is old enough to know better, even if Black and Potter aren't. (He knows who they are now – easy enough once he saw Gideon's distinctive profile to realise that this is the rebellious wing of the Order of the Phoenix.)

Black has his wand out, pointing at the stack of trees outside the Muggle greengrocer's shop. Potter and Gideon are both laughing. Arthur sighs. He has a job to do. He removes his Disillusionment Charm and steps out of the alley before Black has a chance to cast his spell.

"Do I call Magical Law Enforcement, or do you just go home and promise not to do this again?" he asks mildly.

The three turn round to face him, both Potter and Black laughing. Gideon at least has the grace to look slightly ashamed of himself.

"I could call M.L.E," Arthur points out. "Or I could pretend I've not seen you, and hope that The Ministry forgets all about this if it doesn't happen again this Christmas…"

"Arthur, if you call M.L.E., I'll lose my job," Gideon says. "I work for them."

Arthur raises his eyebrows, trying not to laugh. Gideon looks scarily like Charlie when he is caught doing something he shouldn't. "Perhaps you should have thought of that, earlier, Gideon," he says sternly. Come to think of it, all of this feels a bit like telling off Charlie or Bill for some misdemeanour…

Potter and Black are still laughing, and Arthur turns his attention to them. "You two might not have jobs to lose, but I don't think you'd actually enjoy a night of M.L.E's hospitality, would you?"

They stop laughing abruptly, not knowing Arthur well enough to know whether he really will turn them in or not.

"Arthur, please…" Gideon implores, and Arthur's control breaks and he laughs out loud.

"I have enough of kids' pranks at home," he says. "Get lost, the lot of you, and don't do it again, or I really will call the law."

There is definite relief on all three of their faces as they turn to leave.

Gideon turns back at the last minute. "Arthur," he begs. "Don't tell Molly."


	11. December 10th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**10****th**** December**

Andromeda Tonks Floos Molly mid-morning and asks if she can come over this afternoon for a cup of tea and a chat. Molly is only too happy to agree. Charlie and Bill have been at each other's throats all morning, and perhaps Nymphadora's influence will calm them down a bit. Nymphadora and Charlie are very good friends, and if he has her to play with for a while, he will be less likely to carry on needling Bill.

The truth of the matter is that Charlie has seen a change in his brother since Sunday, and he does not understand it. This is more than Bill's normal elder brother superior manner, which he is used to and puts up with most of the time. He has the oddest feeling that Bill has suddenly grown away from him in some way, and he does not like it one bit. Picking a fight with him is Charlie's way of trying to get things back to normal.

After Molly has separated the two of them for the third time, she sends Bill outside to pull up some carrots for lunch, and Charlie to feed the hens. At lunch, she sits them at opposite ends of the table and forbids them to speak to each other. There are plenty of glares and faces pulled between the two of them, but Molly turns a blind eye to them.

When lunch is over she gets Bill to help the twins write their share of the Christmas cards (which means that Bill actually writes them, and they put a very crooked _"F"_ or _"G"_ at the bottom), while Charlie sorts out the Christmas tree decorations in the living room with Percy. They have only just finished, when the Floo crackles into life, and Andromeda and her daughter tumble into the kitchen, laden with shopping bags, which Andromeda dumps unceremoniously in the corner.

"We came straight from Diagon Alley. It's murder out there today," she says cheerfully. "Hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not," Molly replies, flicking her wand to fill and heat the kettle and to get out cups and mince pies.

The boys and Nymphadora are already heading for the back door. For some reason, it is a tradition that they play in the orchard when Nymphadora visits unless it is actually pouring with rain. Molly isn't about to argue, although she does shout after them to check that they all have scarves and gloves.

Once they are gone, and the kitchen is quiet, she and Andromeda take their tea and mince pies into the living room, and sink into chairs. They take Ronnie with them, but he is happy enough with some old wooden bricks to play with and a biscuit to eat.

"You look more worn out than me," Andromeda says sympathetically. "And I've been Christmas shopping all morning. But then, I'm not pregnant."

Molly gasps and drops her mince pie on the carpet. (Ronnie eyes it speculatively.) Andromeda's ability to spot if someone is pregnant before being told is legendary. Molly gapes at her, horrified, and Andromeda begins to laugh.

"Don't tell me you didn't know, Molly? After six kids already?"

"It never even occurred to me," Molly says weakly. "We'd just agreed we were definitely stopping at six… Oh, my goodness, are you sure, Andromeda? You could be wrong." Her last sentence is half-hopeful, but there is a note of longing there too that the other witch spots.

"I'm never wrong," she says confidently. "Perhaps this time it'll be a girl."


	12. December 11th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**11****th**** December **

Molly tries to forget what Andromeda said yesterday, and does not mention it to Arthur. There is no point. It is far too early to do the charm to confirm things one way or the other yet anyway, and this may just be the one time that Andromeda's talent has failed her. But the thought is never far from the back of Molly's mind, and Arthur and the boys find her strangely distracted, although she insists that she is fine when Arthur asks what is wrong. There is no point in worrying him yet…

There is plenty to do today to keep her mind occupied. She spends the morning making Charlie's birthday cake, a batch of fairy cakes and yet more mince pies, with Bill and Charlie helping. Fortunately their cooking is more reliable and requires less input from her than Percy's and the twins', and they seem to have got over their argumentativeness of the previous day and be on good terms again. The younger boys are sitting by the fireside making paper chains. Ronnie has been banished to the playpen because he likes tearing them up, much to his delight and the disgust of his brothers.

After lunch, Molly sends the boys out to the orchard to play while she writes her Christmas cards and does some more knitting. She has four jumpers done, but still has Bill's and Charlie's to finish, before even starting on those for Arthur and her brothers.

When Arthur comes in from work – on time for once – he is carrying a wicker basket, which he deposits in the porch, casting a _"Silencio" _around it. This is Charlie's birthday present – not the type that you can gift-wrap even with magic.

Tea is a riotous affair. Charlie insists on telling everyone at frequent intervals just how many hours, minutes and seconds it is until his birthday, and Percy demands to know when _his_ birthday is. He bursts into tears on being told that it is not until the summer. He thinks it is totally unfair that Bill has just had a birthday, and now Charlie is having one and he isn't. The argument that everyone has just one birthday a year – and that he is better off than the twins who have to share one – does not pacify him at all. He is determined to be miserable about it.

Molly gives a sigh of relief when bedtime finally comes. For once, everyone settles down reasonably quickly. Perhaps she and Arthur can actually have a quiet evening to themselves.

But they make the mistake of letting the kitten out of the basket to be fed, and spend half the evening chasing it around the house. It is so quick, that corralling it, even by magic, is a difficult job.

Perhaps giving in to Charlie's pleas for a pet was not a good idea after all…


	13. December 12th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**12****th**** December** **(Charlie's 8****th**** Birthday)**

The noise the boys make coming downstairs is worse even than it was on the first of December. Molly, who is feeling slightly sick (but who tells herself firmly that that is purely psychological), puts her hands over her ears, and insists they get the Advent calendars done and sit nicely at the table before they even think about birthday presents.

Five unicorns of various sizes emerge from the Advent calendars – silver, scarlet, golden, yellow and green. (The images in wizarding Advent calendars grow with the child. Charlie insists his unicorn is bigger than it would have been yesterday because he is now _eight_.) Ronnie, already in his highchair, and being fed porridge by his father, who has arranged to go into work late today, laughs and claps, and spreads porridge through his hair in the process.

The older boys sit down at the table with a minimum of pushing and shoving. Charlie opens his cards, and the present from his brothers (_"Quidditch for Boys – Book 567"_), and then looks expectantly at his parents. Arthur laughs, and exchanges a look with Molly.

"Do you think we'd better wait till after breakfast?" he asks.

"I think we had," Molly says firmly, beginning to distribute plates of pancakes (the traditional Weasley family birthday breakfast).

"Mum!" Charlie protests, and the other boys are gaping at her too. Presents _always _come before breakfast.

But Molly is not to be swayed. "Eat up, boys," she says brightly. "Present afterwards. You'll see why when Charlie opens it."

Charlie groans, and exchanges a disgusted look with Bill, but decides it is not worth arguing, and sets to eating his pancakes as fast as humanly possible. In a remarkably short time, everyone is finished, and Arthur waves his wand to clear the table, while Molly goes outside to the porch and returns with the wicker basket adorned with a huge scarlet bow, which she puts in front of Charlie.

Charlie goes red, then white, then red again.

"A pet?" he gasps. "Really? I thought you'd never let me…"

His parents are laughing, and the twins are jumping up and down with excitement, crying, "Open it, Charlie, open it!"

Charlie undoes the basket and a tiny black kitten with a white nose and three white paws emerges, looking round timidly at the very noisy family it has just become a part of. Then it looks up at Charlie, and everyone can see that it knows it will be fine. Charlie picks it up carefully, and it snuggles into his chest, purring contentedly.

"This is the best birthday ever!" Charlie proclaims.


	14. December 13th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**13****th**** December**

If Arthur thought that shopping with Bill and Charlie was hard work last week, shopping with Percy and the twins is infinitely worse. He rejected Molly's advice to take the huge and ancient double pushchair for Fred and George, because they can walk perfectly well and they are not going far. It does not take him long to realise this was a mistake. If they are strapped into the pushchair, the twins cannot escape and he knows where they are. If they are walking, he has to hold onto them very firmly, and hope to Godric that Percy will stay true to form and not wander off.

He decides that the junk shop that he took the older boys to last week is a bad idea today – far too many breakables there to risk the twins in it. Instead, they go to the toy shop at the end of Diagon Alley, where they find a set of rune-reading cards for Bill and a game of Exploding Snap for Charlie, both from Percy. The twins choose a wizard chess set for Bill and Charlie to share. Then Arthur bribes the twins with a promise of ice cream later so that they stand still by the counter long enough for Percy to find and pay for a game of Serpents and Portkeys for them. They, in their turn, buy him a stuffed toy owl.

Arthur heaves a sigh of relief as they leave the shop. The promise of an ice cream to come ensures the twins' good behaviour for long enough that they can go to Sentinius Slocombe's Sweet Sensation to buy a large box of chocolates from all three boys for their mother, although there is some argument about which box to buy, as Fred and George favour the box with the dragon on the front, whereas Percy prefers the ruined castle. In the end Arthur uses his casting vote to go for the castle, despite the identical scowls from the twins. He also buys five candy canes which will allegedly be from baby Ronnie for his brothers.

The shopping finished, they head for Fortescue's ice cream parlour, where the boys – in perfect agreement over this at least - choose chocolate sundaes. Arthur has a hot chocolate with marshmallows. He feels that he has earned a treat.


	15. December 14th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**14****th**** December**

Fetching the tree is a family affair. Quentin Quibble, who usually works in the backroom of his family's flower, fruit and vegetable business (_"Quality and value for the wizarding family table and hearth"_) spends the whole of December on the Quibble plantation just outside Tinmouth. Witches and wizards come from all over Britain to get their Christmas trees from him. There are even rumours that people are travelling from the Continent just for one of Quentin Quibble's trees.

Fortunately, Arthur booked the right to choose a tree back in October. Thinking about Christmas trees before Hallowe'en goes against the grain, but it is worth it for one of these. Now, the family Floo to the shop in the corner of the windy plantation, Bill holding Percy firmly by the hand, Charlie highly excited because he is being allowed to Floo alone for the first time, Arthur taking Fred and baby Ronnie, and Molly bringing up the rear with George. (She feels distinctly sick as she and George tumble out of the fireplace into the tiny wooden shop, but tells herself it is the cold and dreary weather and the fact that she is never keen on Flooing. There is nothing else to it.)

Once they are all assembled, they make their way up the hill to where they know from experience the best trees are. They are taller, greener, lusher than any Christmas trees seen anywhere else in England. (Or in the whole world, Quentin Quibble maintains.) Indeed, there is a French couple – he short and dark and round, she tall and blonde and elegant – with a pretty silver-blonde girl a little older than the twins, who have clearly come to England just for one of these fabulous trees. They are choosing theirs at the top of the hill as the Weasleys arrive, and although the family cannot understand a word of their excited French, it is clear that they are exclaiming aloud at how wonderful the Christmas trees here are, and that they do not consider the Portkey from France wasted.

Choosing the tree takes a while, because reaching an agreement is difficult. Molly and Arthur try to rein in the boys' more extravagant choices, reminding them that The Burrow is far from huge, and there is no point in buying a twelve foot tree when their ceilings are barely eight and a half feet high. The boys roll their eyes at the stupidity of adults, and ignore them. Finally, they narrow it down to two. There is an eight foot tree, paler green than many of the others, but with thicker branches than most, and a lovely shape like a candle-flame; and a slightly shorter one, darker green, but wider, and "smelling tree-ier" as Charlie phrases it, descriptively if ungrammatically. Molly, Percy and the twins favour the taller, paler tree; Arthur and the two older boys are adamant that the other is better. The argument goes round in circles and becomes louder and louder, although remaining good-natured.

The French family, who have cut their tree and are packaging it in Quibble's patented _"Christmas tree traveller – guaranteed to keep your tree as fresh as when it was cut"_ prior to levitating it down the hill to the shop, look on in some amusement. The small girl is evidently torn between laughter at this huge and noisy family, and a degree of nervousness inspired by the sheer number of them. She considers the two trees they are arguing about with her head on one side, and eventually points to Arthur, Bill and Charlie's choice, letting out a stream of incomprehensible and slightly lisping French to her parents, who laugh and nod.

Her father sweeps her up into his arms, and smiles at Arthur. "She says zat zis one is better," he explains, pointing to the shorter tree. "Because it smells more as a tree of Chreestmas should zan ze ozzer one. I sink zat she has right, no?"

Arthur laughs. "Well, I think so," he agrees. "But…" he indicates his wife and younger sons with a wave of his arm.

Molly throws up her hands in exasperation, trying not to laugh herself. "Okay, okay, if you're bringing in reinforcements on your side, we'll go with your pick," she says. "Percy, Fred, George, I think we've lost this one. We get first choice next year, okay?" The three boys nod, Fred somewhat reluctantly, because he _liked _the other tree.

Arthur pulls out his wand before anyone can argue further, and cuts down the tree, packaging it up as the French family have done with theirs. They walk down the hill to the shop together to pay for the trees and arrange for them to be transported to their homes. (Arthur does not like to think about what sending a tree to France would cost, even with magic, but reflects that the French couple have the air of people of means.)

That evening, after the boys have gone to bed, Molly and Arthur regard the tree taking up a large portion of their living room. Beyond a slightly wonky star on the top, and some tinsel, it is not decorated yet. No one had thought of Charlie's new pet when they bought it, and the family have spent most of the time since they arrived home trying to coax the still un-named kitten down from the upper branches. Once he finally consented to descend, it was far too close to the boys' bed time to begin any serious tree-decorating. Arthur performed a rapid protection charm to prevent any further kitten ascent attempts, and told the boys firmly that decorating would have to wait until the next day.

Now, Molly and Arthur, enjoying the peace and quiet that always seems a novelty once their noisy brood have finally settled for the night, look at the tree and smile.

"She was right, you know" Molly says sleepily, snuggling closer into Arthur. "That little French girl. It does smell just like a Christmas tree should."


	16. December 15th

_Very short today - I'm tired!_

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**15****th**** December**

The boys manage to make decorating the tree take all morning. The twins have the lower branches, Percy and Charlie the middle ones, and Bill – who is the only one who Molly trusts on the small stepladder - the top. Surprisingly, they manage to finish the job with relatively little squabbling. Charlie and George nearly come to blows over the bright pink cat ornament which Molly bought herself on a whim when she was sixteen, but that is the only argument. Molly settles it by retrieving the ornament, reminding the boys that it belongs to _her_, and hanging it near the top of the tree where neither of them can reach it. Charlie and George scowl, but admit defeat.

The finished tree looks slightly chaotic, extremely colourful, and very Christmassy. The only thing missing is the lights. Arthur is in charge of those, and will charm them to flash in the colours that his sons demand – last year it was purple and green – on his return from work.

While the boys are busy, Molly hides herself in her bedroom for a few minutes, and performs a familiar charm. The potion in the tiny vial turns a bright golden yellow – as she knew all along that it would.

How in the world is she going to tell Arthur?


	17. Author's note sorry!

Author's note

I really hate author's notes instead of proper chapters, but rather than leaving this hanging without any explanation...

My Mum is very ill, quite possibly dying, and I have to go and see her. Which means I will be computerless for the next few days at least and this story will not be updated.

I do plan to finish it, with every day up until Christmas, but I don't know when. I'm also very grateful for your reviews for this story and others, and I am already miles behind with review replies - I will get to them eventually, I promise!


	18. December 16th

_Thank you so much for all your kind messages following my author's note. My Mum is doing a bit better, though is still far from well, and I am home again. It will probably take me a day or two to catch up with this. The chapters are mostly written, but need typing up._

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**16****th**** December**

Molly misses the opportunity to tell Arthur her news when he gets home on Monday. Charlie's kitten is missing, and although the three younger boys and baby Ronnie are put to bed after a belated tea, Charlie and Bill refuse to go to bed until he is found. Charlie is so upset, and Bill is very nearly as bad, that their parents realise that sending them to bed would be a waste of time anyway.

Eventually, the kitten is found, fast asleep in the bottom of the wardrobe in the younger boys' room, totally oblivious to all the trouble he has caused. Charlie is overjoyed, and Arthur puts a Finding Charm on the tiny cat to prevent a repetition.

But by the time that Bill and Charlie are finally in bed and asleep, the kitten curled up on Charlie's feet, Molly and Arthur are worn out themselves. Molly thinks she had better save her news for the next day.

Breakfast is as chaotic as usual, and the Hippogriffs in Bill and Charlie's Advent calendars scare Percy and the twins as well as Ronnie, so that Arthur – already late for work – has to leave Molly (with a mixture of guilt and relief) to deal with dour crying children. Once again, Molly's news will have to wait.

In the late afternoon, Arthur is sent to investigate reports of a Christmas display in a city centre where the reindeer have been bewitched to sing _"We wish you a merry Christmas"_ and _"Jingle bells"_. (Arthur thinks that if he finds out that Gideon has anything to do with it, he will strangle him, brother-in-law or not.) But the callout is a false alarm. The reindeer are _supposed _to sing. Arthur marvels yet again at what Muggles manage to do with eckeltricity.

When he finally gets home, Molly is in the throes of wrestling Percy and the twins into bed, and Bill and Charlie are playing with the kitten in the living room. Ronnie, yelling in the playpen in the corner, because he wants to get out and play too, is being studiously ignored by his brothers. Arthur picks up his youngest son, who stops crying and tries to grab his father's glasses.

"Has that kitten got a name yet?" Arthur asks Charlie.

"Uh-huh," Charlie says, picking up the kitten and hugging it. "Cracker, 'cos it's Christmas."

"'Cept Fred and George keep calling him Crackle," Bill adds. "I like that better."

Charlie scowls at his brother. "Don't you start," he says. "Cracker not Crackle. It's my cat."

Arthur laughs. "I don't suppose the kitten cares either way," he says. "Ten minutes, you two, and then it's bedtime."

Bill and Charlie both groan, but Arthur ignores their protests with the skill of long practice, and goes upstairs to find Molly, taking Ronnie with him. The younger boys are all in bed, and Molly is just finishing reading, _"The tale of the three brothers"_to them, as Arthur pops his head round the door. He goes in to kiss the boys goodnight, and for once, they all seem as if they might settle down without any fuss.

"Did Charlie tell you the cat's called Crackle?" Fred murmurs sleepily, as his father bids him goodnight.

"I thought it was Cracker," Arthur says.

"Crackle's better," George insists, and Molly laughs.

"They've been arguing about it all day," she tells Arthur. "I have a feeling that Charlie's going to lose this one, his cat or not."

Arthur laughs too and hands Ronnie over to Molly to put to bed, while he goes downstairs to chivvy the older two boys up to bed.

When the house is finally quiet, and Molly and Arthur are sitting in the living room together, Molly puts down the jumper she is knitting (dark purple, for Fabian), and looks at her husband. She sighs inwardly. You would think she would know how to do this by now.

"Arthur…" she begins, slightly tremulously, and when he looks up from the article in _"The Prophet"_ he is reading, she just blurts it out. "I'm pregnant." She bursts into tears as she says it. There is an interval of about half a minute before Arthur reacts, then he comes and joins Molly on the settee, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

"That's wonderful news," he says, and he really means it. Arthur adores being a father.

"But – but we said… We can't afford another baby, Arthur." Molly's words are almost incomprehensible, she is crying so hard.

Arthur holds her tight, and kisses her again, "We'll manage," he tells her firmly. "We always do."


	19. December 17th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**17****th**** December**

Molly is inclined to tearfulness at breakfast-time, although the boys are making enough noise arguing about the kitten's name that none of them notice.

Charlie is getting cross. "He's my cat, I ought to be able to choose his name," he insists.

"Well, you nearly did," Bill points out in a creditable attempt to pacify him. "It's only the last two letters that are different."

"But I like Cracker better." Charlie is determined not to let this go.

"C'ackle!" proclaims Ronnie, laughing and throwing his hands in the air, sending his bowl of Magic Pops _("Nutrition and fun for the growing witch and wizard")_ flying. Everyone laughs, except Charlie, who scowls, and Molly, who bursts into tears. Arthur flicks his wand to clear up the mess, and goes and puts his arm round his wife.

"Your mother's tired, boys," he says firmly. "She doesn't need you arguing about things that don't matter." He looks particularly sternly at Charlie who mutters something under his breath, but does not say whatever it is out loud. "Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon are coming tonight," Arthur continues, as Molly mops her eyes and turns to refill Ronnie's bowl. "But if I hear that you haven't behaved for your mother, I'll Floo them and ask them not to come. Clear?"

The boys – even Fred and George – know better than to argue with their father when he speaks in that tone of voice. Five boyish voices murmur, "Yes, Dad."

For a wonder, they manage to get through the day relatively peacefully. Molly insists on lessons in the morning – although for the twins that just means colouring some Christmassy pictures – and after lunch, Bill has the brilliant idea of a paper chain race. He and the twins compete against Charlie and Percy to see who can make the longest paper chain. (Even at ten, Bill has a well-developed sense of responsibility towards his brothers, and he knows better than to put the twins with Charlie when they will only start arguing about Crackle's – or Cracker's – name again.) Charlie and Percy win the race, although it is a very close-run thing, and Arthur comes home from work to find the house festooned with colourful paper chains.

Gideon arrives soon after, swinging Fred and George and Percy one after another up into the air in his arms, and hugging the older two boys. He demands to see the famous kitten, and actually manages to persuade Charlie that Crackle is a pretty good name with undertones of mystery and subterfuge that Cracker does not have. (Neither Molly nor Arthur can follow his logic on this, and even Bill is not convinced, but it satisfies Charlie, and that is the important thing.)

But by six thirty all three adults are checking and re-checking their watches, and Gideon cannot restrain himself from going to the window every five minutes and looking out. Fabian should have been here nearly an hour ago.

Bill, aware as his brothers are not, that their uncles are engaged in activities that put them in danger, realises why the adults are concerned very quickly, and is beginning to look scared. Arthur engages him and Charlie in a game of Exploding Snap, but neither Bill nor Arthur are really concentrating on it, and Charlie wins easily.

"We'd better eat, I think," Molly says at seven o'clock, her voice strained. "The boys should be in bed soon."

They sit around the table and eat shepherd's pie and vegetables, but the atmosphere is tense. Even the younger boys are picking up on it, although they do not understand it. They are used to Uncle Gideon laughing and making jokes and talking non-stop. He is not doing any of those things tonight.

Finally, at a quarter to eight, when Arthur is upstairs putting Percy, Fred and George to bed, Fabian walks in. He is limping slightly, and there is a fresh cut on his forehead. Molly bursts into tears on his arrival, and runs over to hug him. Gideon looks rather as if he would like to do the same.

Fabian regards his twin over the top of their sister's head as he pats her back. "Someone tipped them off," he says quietly. "Hesta's in Mungo's, so's Caradoc."

"Godric, Fabe…" Gideon's face is chalk-white and his voice is shaking. "Are they okay? Are you okay?"

Fabian manages a half-smile. "I'm fine. Hesta's got a huge gash on her arm that we couldn't stop bleeding, and Caradoc got hit by three stunners at once. But they'll be fine. I hope." He pulls away from Molly, and sits down abruptly, burying his face in his hands. Molly suddenly becomes aware that Bill and Charlie have been listening to every word of this, their mouths and eyes open wide. Bill looks frightened, Charlie excited.

"The boys…" she whispers, and Gideon and Fabian suddenly realise that they are there.

Fabian lifts his face from his hands and grins faintly at his nephews. "Where's this kitten I've heard so much about then, Charlie?" he asks. " I need to inspect it."

Charlie retrieves the tiny cat from its perch on the windowsill and dumps it on his uncle's lap.

"He's called Crackle," he tells him proudly, and Fabian laughs.

"Good name," he says. "Great name, in fact." He picks up the kitten and looks into its face. "You've got a good home here, little cat," he says seriously. "Don't forget it." Crackle meows, and they all laugh.

Charlie quickly forgets what he overheard that evening. Bill does not.


	20. December 18th

_This chapter is specially for Lizzie, to wish her a belated happy birthday. Hope it was a good one!_

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**18****th**** December**

Sometimes it is easier to shop in Ottery-St-Catchpole than to Floo to Diagon Alley. The village, with its mixture of Muggle and wizarding families, has both Muggle and magical shops, although the magical ones are bewitched to look like ordinary houses to the Muggle inhabitants and visitors. The Muggles in Ottery-St-Catchpole wonder sometimes at the number of slightly odd-looking people in the village, those who seem unfamiliar with Muggle money, who dress unconventionally, and live in slightly strange-looking houses. But they reflect that there are strange people in many villages, and the presence of so many "characters" in their village is probably a boon to the tourist trade.

On this particular day, Molly decrees that they need to go shopping in the village. With six children, getting ready to go anywhere is a bit like preparing for a major expedition. It takes nearly half an hour to get out the ancient double pushchair, strap Ronnie and Fred into it (the twins have to take it in turns to walk), and find cloaks, hats, scarves and gloves for everybody. Charlie wants to take Crackle, but the glare his mother gives him at the mere suggestion tells him there is no point in arguing about it.

Finally, they set out, Molly pushing the pushchair, and the other boys running ahead with George being pulled along by Bill and Charlie – his short legs would not keep up otherwise. Molly keeps a sharp eye on the boys. Going into Muggle areas with so many young children is always a risk because of accidental magic. Bill has more or less grown out of it now, and Charlie and Percy usually only display it when they are upset or angry, but the twins seem to delight – subconsciously, Molly supposes, although sometimes she wonders about that – in manifesting it in the most outrageous manner at the most inconvenient times. Molly shudders at the memory of every single newspaper and magazine flying off the shelves in the Muggle paper shop a few weeks ago. The Muggle owner agreed bemusedly that it must have been a freak gust of wind, but Molly caught her giving Fred and George a very suspicious look as the family left the shop after helping her to tidy up.

Fortunately, today's shopping trip passes without incident, and Molly yields to the boys' pleas for a few minutes in the Muggle playground by the village green. It is empty at present – most of the village children are at school – so she thinks they will be safe enough. She puts Ronnie into one of the baby swings and pushes him gently, trying to keep all five of the others within sight at once.

A middle-aged lady approaches, pushing a double pushchair much more modern than Molly's own. She unstraps the children in it, and a little girl who looks about the same age as the twins gets out and runs over to join Fred and George on the climbing frame. They both grin at her, and Molly hopes desperately that nothing untoward will happen.

The woman lifts a little boy out of the pushchair and puts him into the swing next to Ronnie's. She smiles at Molly.

"Six of them? I don't know how you do it. I had three, and that was more than enough for me. These two are my grandchildren. I look after them while my daughter's at work. She owns the paper shop over there."

"Really?" Molly asks faintly. She has not dared to return to the paper shop since the flying magazine incident. "How old are the children?"

"Sarah's two and a half," the woman says. "And Ben here is ten months. Diana – that's my daughter – says that'll be it. She has her boy and her girl and doesn't need another." She smiles knowingly. "Are you hoping for a girl this time, dear?"

Molly gapes at her, and the woman laughs. "I can always tell, you know. I knew this one…" she nods at Ben, "…was on the way before Diana did. Apparently my great-great-grandmother was burned as a witch. Perhaps I get it from her."

Molly smiles, as is expected of her, and mutters something about, "Bound to be another boy, my husband's family don't do girls."

Luckily, their conversation is interrupted by Charlie running over to say that Percy is stuck at the top of the slide. Molly orders him to watch Ronnie, and hurries over to rescue Percy, who is not stuck at all, merely refusing to slide down because he has changed his mind. Molly tells him briskly not to be so silly, and shouts to the other boys that it's time they were going. They straggle over reluctantly, Charlie carrying Ronnie.

"P'itty!" announces George, as Molly straps him into the pushchair.

"What's pretty, dear?" Molly asks absently, looking round and doing a quick head-count.

"'Ittle girl," George says, pointing at the Muggle girl, who is now being lifted onto a swing by her grandmother. "P'itty girl."

Molly resists the urge to tell him that he is a bit young to be commenting on girls' looks, knowing that to do so would inevitably lead to an unanswerable series of "Why?" questions from Charlie and Percy all the way home.

So she just says, "Yes she is, isn't she?" as they turn to go, waving to the Muggle woman and her grandchildren by the swings.

As they turn into the lane that leads to The Burrow, it begins to snow.


	21. December 19th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**19****th**** December**

Much to the boys' disappointment, the snow has turned to a wet sleet by the time they have finished lunch, and it is far too wet and cold to go out. But the following day, they awake to a white world. The twins, who do not remember the snow of the previous winter, are open-eyed with amazement.

"Daddy did it!" Fred proclaims, and George nods in agreement. Bill and Charlie find this hysterical, and can't stop laughing all through breakfast.

As soon as breakfast is over – in record time – the boys clamour to be let out to play, and Molly realises that there is no point at all in trying to insist on lessons this morning. She makes sure that they are all bundled up well, and lets them out, with a strict injunction not to go beyond the end of the garden and not to argue.

The boys have a whale of a time, building not one but three snowmen. Charlie and Fred run back inside to demand hats and scarves for them, which Molly provides from a bag of old clothes under the stairs she keeps for such occasions. Once the snowmen are finished, Bill and Charlie (with memories of Uncle Fabian showing them how last winter) make a slide on the path, which is great fun until George turns head over heels on it, and has to be carried inside by Bill for their mother to deal with his skinned knees and hands. The other four finish off with a snowball fight, in which Bill and Fred emerge the victors, before realising that they are cold, and going inside to join George, who is already sitting by the kitchen fire drinking hot chocolate and eating buttered crumpets.

"This is the best day ever!" Percy declares, biting into his third crumpet.

The others are inclined to agree.


	22. December 20th

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**20****th**** December**

Fabian and Gideon arrive just as the family are finishing breakfast, and are greeted with cheers from their nephews. It has snowed again overnight.

"Sledges?" suggests Gideon, and the boys cheer even more loudly. The noise frightens Crackle - who had been sitting on Charlie's lap (not allowed at the table, but Molly hadn't noticed, and Arthur was pretending he hadn't), and he yowls and heads for the open back door, but Fabian intercepts him and picks him up just in time. He is well scratched for his trouble.

In a remarkably short time, the five older boys are cloaked and hatted and gloved and heading for the hills behind The Burrow with their uncles. Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon are fun. Sledging is fun. The two together are beyond fun – the boys think even Christmas day probably won't be this good.

In the suddenly quiet house, Molly and Arthur look at each other and breathe a sigh of relief.

Arthur smiles. "Would you do me the honour of going out with me, Molly Prewett?" he asks formally.

Molly giggles, and sweeps a curtsey. "Why certainly, sir. It would be a privilege."

Arthur takes her in his arms and kisses her. Ronnie, still in his highchair, decides he has been neglected long enough and starts to bang his spoon and cry. His parents ignore him for a full three minutes. When they pull apart, Arthur picks up his youngest son, and grins at him.

"Okay, okay," he says. "I have to get my share of your Mummy sometimes, you know. I suppose you'd better come too, though, hadn't you?" Ronnie stops crying and snuggles into his father's neck.

They go to Fortescue's and share a double chocolate sundae with extra nuts washed down with coffee and cream. Ronnie has a bowl of ice cream all to himself, and obviously thinks that Christmas day has come early.

It is a good day all round.


	23. December 21st

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**21****st**** December**

On Sunday, everyone is on their best behaviour. Crackle has been banished to the living room, and the door is firmly closed on him, much to Charlie's disgust. They have a visitor.

Auntie Muriel sweeps in with the air of someone who has come to find fault. She sniffs as she surveys the small kitchen, with the table already laid with festive napkins and crackers.

"This kitchen is far too small for your family, Molly," she announces, as she settles herself comfortably enough by the table. The boys come forward as previously instructed to be kissed and criticised. Charlie is growing too fast, Percy's jumper is dirty, the twins are giggling at nothing, baby Ronnie is going to be spoilt if Molly insists on carrying him around all the time. Only Bill escapes an adverse comment. (Muriel goes as far as saying he is a "fine boy", which makes him blush furiously.) As being Auntie Muriel's favourite means that he has to sit next to her for lunch, Bill does not appreciate escaping her sharp tongue in the least.

Somehow, they get though the meal without any major disasters, although Fred has to be sent to bed for accidentally on purpose tipping the cabbage into Auntie Muriel's lap. He is grinning as he leaves the room, and George looks as if he wishes he had thought of it first.

Finally, after taking an inordinately long time over her coffee, Auntie Muriel gets up to leave. There is an audible sigh of relief from everyone as the door closes behind her, and Molly sinks into a chair, with a sound that is somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

"Thank Merlin that's over with," she says, as Arthur puts a fresh cup of tea in front of her. (She cannot drink coffee when she is pregnant; it makes her sicker than ever, and that stage seems to have hit with a vengeance today.)

The boys are incredibly noisy for the rest of the day, but Arthur and Molly do not mind. It is nice to be back to normal.


	24. December 22nd

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**22****nd**** December**

This will be the year, Molly decides, when they get everything wrapped and ready before midnight on Christmas Eve.

Arthur sees the determined look on her face, remembers how readily she cries when pregnant, and refrains from reminding her that she has said this every year since Bill was a year old. (When they were first married and Bill was a tiny baby, they had no money at all, so there was nothing to wrap.)

So the two of them spend Monday evening once the boys are finally in bed sitting in their bedroom with piles of paper and Spellotape. Of course, they could use magic to wrap everything, but Molly is inclined to think that that is cheating, and Arthur is not going to argue with her. Finally, everything is parcelled up and labelled. Arthur retrieves Crackle, who has somehow got into their room and is investigating the pile of empty bags and boxes with great glee, and returns him to Bill and Charlie's room, where he is supposed to sleep. Charlie rolls over and mutters, "Is it Christmas yet?" as his father deposits the kitten on his feet, but does not wake up properly.

When he gets back to his and Molly's room, Molly is already in bed. Arthur smiles and hastens to join her.


	25. December 23rd

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**23****rd**** December**

Shopping in the village is all very well, but there are some things you can only buy at Diagon Alley. Getting there at all is a bit of a palaver, with six children, only two of whom are allowed to Floo on their own. Bill takes Percy and Charlie goes on his own. ("I could take one of the twins for you, Mum!" "I don't think so, Charlie!") Molly herself somehow manages to hold onto both the twins and baby Ronnie, and lands in the Leaky Cauldron in a heap with the three of them, fighting the nausea that always accompanies Flooing in pregnancy for her.

Once everyone is picked up and dusted down, and Molly has found a ginger biscuit in her bag to nibble on, they set off. The pram is pulled out from the bag and restored to its full size, and Ronnie is strapped into it. Molly tells Percy and Fred to hold onto the pram, and sends Bill and Charlie ahead with George between them. ("And don't let go of him, either of you!")

They visit the wool shop (Molly has run out of the purple wool for Gideon's jumper); the sweet shop ("No, these are for _Christmas_!"); the toy shop (Molly always forgets to buy something for Nymphadora until the very last minute), and the general food store. Molly looks at the severely diminished number of coins in her bag and wonders about going to Gringotts, but thinks about the queues at Christmas and decides it isn't worth it. In the meantime, the boys are "oohing" and "aahing" over the new broomstick in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Or four of them are. Where is Percy? Molly counts heads again, but he is not there.

"Where is Percy?" she asks trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Bill, Charlie! Where is Percy?"

The two older boys turn to her, looking at her vaguely, more than half their minds still on the wonderful broom. The twins are still gazing into the window.

"Dunno," Bill says. "Isn't he here?" He looks around, as if he expects his missing brother to suddenly materialise out of thin air.

"No, he isn't!" Molly snaps. "Where _is _he?"

"Calm down, Mum," says Charlie, putting a hand on Molly's arm. "He was here a minute ago. He can't be far away." Even under these trying circumstances, Molly spares a thought for how like his father Charlie is at times. Then she bursts into tears. Several people stop and look, embarrassed, wondering if they should be the person to do something. A round-faced woman pushing a pram stops.

"It's Molly, isn't it? Fabian and Gideon's sister? I'm Alice Longbottom. Can I help?"

Molly hiccups and swallows. "I've lost one!" she wails.

"One of your boys?" Alice asks kindly. "Well, I'm sure he can't be far away. We'll find him. Come and sit down, and you can look after the rest of them and my Neville while I see what I can do."

She steers Molly over to a table outside Fortescue's, and orders her a strong coffee when Giovanni bustles over, explaining briefly what has happened. Giovanni nods understandingly, and calls to his son, Florian, a young man in his mid-twenties, to come and help look for the missing boy. He himself disappears briefly, and is back in a few minutes with a coffee for Molly and ice creams for the boys. ("On the house," he says firmly, as she goes to pull out her money bag.)

In the meantime, Alice Longbottom has extracted a description of Percy from Bill and Charlie and has collected together a surprisingly large number of people to search. She is obviously used to coping in a crisis.

Before Molly has even finished her coffee, and as the boys are scraping the last morsels from their ice cream dishes, Alice is back, hand-in-hand with a sheepish-looking Percy. He bursts into tears when he sees his mother.

"I'm sorry, Mummy," he cries. "I was looking at the owls, 'cos Quidditch is boring, an' you losted me!"

"He was in Eeylops," Alice explains, as she sits down beside Molly, who has pulled Percy onto her knee, and is wiping her eyes with her hand. "I thought he couldn't have gone far."

Giovanni bustles over with coffee for Alice and a bowl of ice cream for Percy. Molly wonders tiredly why nothing is ever simple in her family.


	26. December 24th

_Despite some people's expectations, this is the _last_ chapter - Advent doesn't include Christmas day itself! If you want some Weasley Christmas days, there are twelve in my last year's Christmas fic, "My true love given to me" (including a brief mnention of Christmas 1980!)_

**A Weasley Family Advent**

**24****th**** December**** (Christmas Eve)**

Arthur leaves for work early, in the hope that will mean he can finish at a reasonable hour. Which is all very well, but it leaves Molly – who is feeling _very _sick this morning – alone to cope with five highly excited small boys and a baby who is inclined to be grizzly, for no good reason that she can see. Halfway though breakfast, she thrusts Ronnie's bowl of half-eaten porridge at Bill, and bolts from the room, her hand over her mouth.

Bill puts down his own spoon resignedly, and starts to shovel porridge into his youngest brother's mouth.

"Looks like you aren't stuck with being the baby after all, Ronnie," he observes. Charlie stares at him, and then starts to giggle. The younger boys merely look puzzled, and Bill does not enlighten them.

Molly thinks that this is possibly the longest Christmas Eve ever. She does not remember ever feeling quite this sick so early in pregnancy before, although perhaps she did and has subconsciously blanked out the memory. She thinks irritably that it is about time someone found an effective spell to deal with so-called "morning sickness".

In between bouts of sickness, she manages to get the vegetables prepared for Christmas dinner; help the boys with their present wrapping (a complicated business because of no one being allowed to see his own presents); deal with Charlie falling off his broom (again); make lunch for the boys (she herself manages a piece of toast and some weak tea); sort out a squabble between the twins and Percy over the ownership of a particular picture book; rescue Crackle from the top of the wardrobe in her bedroom, and make yet another batch of mince pies.

When Gideon, Fabian and Dorcas arrive in the late afternoon, Molly is upstairs, and the boys are in the living room. Ronnie is crying on Bill's lap, and Bill dumps him unceremoniously in his Uncle Fabian's arms.

"He won't stop crying for me," he informs him. "Mum's upstairs. Being sick."

The adults all raise their eyebrows, and Gideon starts to laugh. "Uh-oh!" he says. "You probably weren't supposed to tell us that, Bill."

Bill glares at him. "Mum thinks I haven't noticed," he says grumpily. "But I'm not _thick_, Uncle Gid!"

Dorcas says nothing, but heads for the stairs. Fabian sits in the rocking chair with Ronnie, who snuggles against his shoulder and stops crying. Gideon swings the twins in turn into the air, before subsiding onto the settee and pulling Percy onto his lap.

"Where's your dad?" he asks the room at large.

"Still at work," Charlie says. "He _said _he shouldn't be too late tonight…"

There is a shriek from upstairs, and Molly comes down in a rush, pulling Fabian out of the rocking chair and into a crushing hug that squashes Ronnie between them and starts him wailing again.

"You asked her, you actually asked her! I can't believe it! Congratulations!" She bursts into noisy tears, just as Arthur comes in.

"Molly? What on earth's the matter?" he asks, as he rescues the yelling baby from Fabian's arms.

"They're engaged, Arthur! Fabian and Dorcas are finally engaged! Oh, isn't it wonderful?"

Arthur slaps Fabian on the back, with a hearty "Congratulations!" and kisses a blushing Dorcas. Then he hands Ronnie to Gideon, who is grinning in the background, and heads to the cabinet in the corner to pull out a bottle of elf wine.

"Knew we'd find a use for this one day!" he says, smiling, and pours four generous glasses for himself, Fabian, Dorcas and Gideon, and one much less generous one for Molly. Charlie and Bill are sent to the kitchen to bring pumpkin juice for themselves and their brothers.

Arthur raises his glass to Fabian and Dorcas, who now have their arms round each other.

"Congratulations and Happy Christmas!" he says, and the family echo it as they raise their glasses. Molly is still wiping her eyes.

Despite the war, it is going to be a very merry Christmas.


End file.
